The highest court of the European Union claimed that the executive branch had a duty to properly specify the scientific criteria for regulating synthetic molecules such as Bisphenol A, phthalates and pesticides, obligation that had to be met at the latest on the 13th of December 2013.
By application lodged at the Registry of General Court, Sweden took “failure to act” proceedings to declare that, by failing to adopt the acts specified in the Regulation No. 528/2012, the Commission had infringed the latter. That appeal was supported by four Member States of the European Union.
The reaction of the European Commission
With the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR, Regulation EU 528/2012) coming into force on the 1st of September 2013, the European Commission had yet tried to find a balance between the benefits of insecticides on one hand and public health and environmental protection on the other. The Commission had also issued a roadmap with milestones on the European definition of endocrine disruptors, with four options for the latter.
Supported by the four Member States, Sweden said that these actions were insufficient due to the slowness of the process.
The Commission stated that it took note of the court decision and it is already conducting a study in order to solve the issue.
“The objective is to conclude the impact assessment in 2016. The decision-making concerning the criteria for identifying endocrine disruptors will follow thereafter”, a spokeswoman said.
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